A Guide to The Ultimate North Shore, Oahu Day Trip

The North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii has TONS of things to do – from beaches to food to hiking to some adventures you would have never expected. It’s hard to narrow down exactly what you want to do without narrowing the list down too much. So I’ve decided to create a guide to the Ultimate North Shore, Oahu day trip.

Odds are, you’ll be driving up from the south part of the island. So you’re first stop will be on the way up to the North Shore: the Dole Plantation. Stop and get some breakfast. A Dole whip with li hing mui powder for breakfast is completely acceptable – and that knocks off two of the items on my Hawaii food bucket list.

As I mentioned in a previous post, skydiving in Hawaii should definitely be on your bucket list. Because Hawaii is at sea level, you can fall 15,000 feet – the highest altitude you can go without an oxygen mask. If the land is at a higher altitude – say 5,000 feet – you can still only start your fall from 15,000 feet, so the drop is 10,000 feet instead. So Hawaii is definitely the place to skydive, and Pacific Skydiving is the most reasonably priced company.

Stop 3: Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Haleiwa Beach Park

There are quite a few stand up paddle boarding rental places at Haleiwa Beach Park – for quite a good price, I might add. Plus, Haleiwa Beach Park is slightly enclosed, so you won’t have to worry about being pulled by a super strong current. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a current, but even a beginner like me can stand-up-paddle my way out.

You’ll have to back track just a tad to get to Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa, but it’ll be worth it. Always go for the garlic shrimp. Not the spicy shrimp. For those of you who are going to walk up to the shrimp truck and order the extra spicy shrimp anyway, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I have never met a single person who could tolerate the spicy shrimp. But the garlic shrimp is delicious.

Stop 5: Laniakea Beach

Laniakea Beach, also known as Turtle Beach, nearly always has turtles (locally known as “honu” – check out some more local words you need to know here) just lying around on the beach. Of course, be sure to keep your distance, as Hawaiian sea turtles are a threatened species.

Stop 6: Waimea Bay

This one will be a very quick stop. As a matter of fact, your driver will probably have to sit in the car, because there will be no parking (so choose someone who is afraid of heights or deep water to be the driver for this portion of the journey). Basically, all you need to do at Waimea Bay is run out of the car – you don’t want to keep your driver waiting for too long – climb the tall rock on the left side of the beach, and jump into the bay. Now you’ve gone cliff jumping too.

Stop 7: Foodland

By now, I’d already want a snack, so Foodland would be the place to go. This local grocery store chain has all of the local snacks from wasabi peas to arare to POG to li hing mui seeds. Basically just walk through the aisles and buy the things that you’ve never heard of.

Stop 8: Three Tables Beach

Three Tables is literally two minutes from Waimea Bay, and it’s an amazing place for snorkeling! You’ll see colorful schools of fish passing by, gnarled coral, and maybe even a turtle or two! Just be sure to never pass the three “tables” (the circular little “islands”), because, once you pass that point, the current can pull you without you even realizing it.

Stop 9: Sunset Beach

By now, it’ll be getting pretty late. It’ll be time to find the perfect place to watch the sunset, so why not head to Sunset Beach?

Stop 10: Somewhere for Dinner

The restaurants in this area are always changing, so it would be kind of pointless for me to give you a specific place to eat. That place might not even be there in a couple of months. Instead, Yelp “restaurants in Kahuku” and some great choices should pop up! If you’re not feeling any of those, head to Turtle Bay Resort for some amazing food

Now, be warned. If you do this day trip, you will be tired – actually, you will be completely wiped out. But it will be one of the most amazing day of your trip to Hawaii. After all, it is the ULTIMATE North Shore, Oahu day trip.

Is there anything else that you think needs to be added this guide to the ultimate North Shore, Oahu Day Trip? Write about it below in the comments!

I went to the North Shore years ago so trying to remember all that I did! The one thing I remember is how huge the waves were. I definitely didn’t see turtles or do cliff jumping (I’m too chicken for that!).

HAHA I would absolutely be the spicy shrimp girl who thinks she can handle it and then can’t…! Also love the drive-by cliff jumping adventure, would definitely be down for that. What a lucky lady you are to be from this magical place!

While you’re at the Dole Plantation (or just on the North Shore in general), don’t forget to try fresh cacao, too! Cacao is another of the many gorgeous fruits grown on Hawai’i, and it happens to be what chocolate’s made out of ! Definitely a two-fer. So glad I found this in my research for this winter’s trip! 🙂

Can definitely say “been there done that” but I think I would add a stop to get some shaved ice! Never tasted anything so good! Got a great pic of a turtle on the beach.But I preferred Waimea Falls to Waimea Beach.

Wow so glad you got to do all of these things! I thought about adding shave ice, but none of my favorite shave ice places are actually on the North Shore. I was thinking about writing a blog post on those place in the future :).